Homeless camp swept away by Sarasota crews

Cadre of police, public works employees and others wipe away traces of homeless camp, leaving residents looking for place to stay.

By LEE WILLIAMS and SHANNON MCFARLAND

Within a half-hour Tuesday morning, a public works employees cleared the 900 block of Florida Avenue of any sign that it had once been a homeless camp.

Promptly at 8:30 a.m., a half-dozen city workers started on the south end of the sidewalk and worked their way north, throwing dirty bedding, old clothes, tarps, broken-down furniture and other debris into a city garbage truck.

Public works supervisor Mike Strehler, who has worked for the city for 26 years, said his crew usually does street repairs.

The few homeless who remained at the camp voiced no opposition. They had been warned the street would be cleared. Most were only concerned about where they would spend the night.

The police presence was minimal, consisting only of Lt. Corinne Stannish and Officer Jon Misiewitz.

Vallerie Guillory, executive director of the nonprofit Trinity Without Borders, spent the night on Florida Avenue. She hoped many of the displaced homeless could stay at a property donated to the nonprofit at 1003 N. Washington Blvd., where she hopes to establish a tent city. But her plan has not been approved by city officials.

“I've been driving people to our property and I don't give a damn,” Guillory said. “I've been out here all night.”

The Washington Boulevard property was mostly unoccupied for much of Tuesday, though Guillory was expecting people to begin filtering in late in the day.

Darrell Arlime said he has lived on Florida Avenue for three years. He was citing biblical verses as city workers approached earlier Tuesday.

Asked where he planned to spend the night, one man who identified himself only as David pointed west.

“I'll be sleeping in that field right there,” he said.

Where to go

Sitting in Rosemary Cemetery, Johnny Morris and Anna Giandina watched as city workers made their way along Florida Avenue, tossing out anything left on the sidewalk. Morris and Giandina had moved their few bags of belongings with them.

“It's messed up,” Morris said. “They're trying to run us off.”

Morris, 60, said he had lived at the camp for the last two weeks. He said he had a bus ticket to Georgia, but still needs money to pay a fee to use it.

“I can get out of here,” said Morris.

But Giandina, 53, has lived in Sarasota for 25 years — without a permanent home for 15 of those. She only lost a few wet blankets on Florida Avenue.

“We all knew it was going to happen,” Giandina said. “I don't know where to go.”

She took out a cellphone, snapping a few photos of the trucks, the street, and former neighbors wondering where to go next. She had heard about Trinity's proposed tent city.

“I guess people have been over there, and they've run them off, too,” Giandina said.

Another homeless woman, Joy Kelley, had her bags packed before city workers showed up.

“I stay on properties,” Kelley said.

“I ain't got caught yet. I got nowhere to go.”

Deborah Hines said she does not blame anyone for forcing her to move off Florida Avenue.

“They waited as long as they could,” Hines said. “We weren't supposed to be here. It was OK while it lasted.

“I don't know where I'm going, but I guess I'll figure it out.”

No way to live

Bryan Pope, general manager of Sarasota's Salvation Army, was called to the scene by police as a precaution.

Each year, Pope said, he reads the names of those who die on Sarasota streets. During the last ceremony, Pope said he read dozens of names.

“They need to get off the streets,” Pope said. “This is no way for anybody to live. They're not helping themselves.”

Stannish, the police lieutenant, said she has received “a lot of support from the community. This is a public problem.”

She and Officer Misiewitz encountered no difficulties — nor did the public works crew.

While not speaking about Trinity's tent city proposal, Stannish said she “supports finding a place for people to be able to lay their head, get their basic human needs met.”

“It's not fair to take over a sidewalk, but they need a safe place,” she said. “We're working with the ACLU on this. We share a common purpose.”

She asked anyone with resources for the homeless to call her at (941) 364-7367.

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